Life Sciences Commons^™

Nitrogen Fertilizer, Cropping Systems, And Iowa Groundwater, Robert Dehaan, Ronald Vos, Matt Schuiteman, Matt Van Schouwen, Harlan Kruid

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Summary presentation of research conducted over a 5 year period to determine which cropping systems best reduce nitrate leaching. Initial data was collected on nitrate concentration from individual wells in the Sioux Center, Iowa area which led to connections with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Source Water Protection Program. A community group was then formed comprised of city representatives, Dordt College faculty, local farmers, Source Water Protection Program staff, and others. The group applied for and received a Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture grant to fund field experiments to identify cropping systems that retain nitrate and are workable for …

Taxonomy, Host-Plant Associations And Phylogeny Of African Crotalaria-Feeding Seed Beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Bruchinae): The Conicobruchus Strangulatus (Fåhraeus) Species Group, Bruno P. Le Ru, Alex Delobel, Zoltán György, Gwenaëlle Genson, Gael J. Kergoat

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

A small group of six morphologically related seed beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) belonging to the Conicobruchus genus is reviewed. Species in this group for which host-plants are known feed on various species of Crotalaria (Fabaceae, Crotalarieae). Here we provide diagnoses and a dichotomous key for all six species. The following synonymies are proposed: Conicobruchus cicatricosus (Fåhraeus, 1839) (= Bruchus cicatricosus pallidioripennis Pic, 1941) syn. nov.; Conicobruchus strangulatus (Fåhraeus, 1839) (= Bruchus hargreavesi Pic, 1933) syn. nov. The corresponding Conicobruchus strangulatus species group is hereby designated. New host-plant data are also included, which correspond to the results of recent collections of …

Modulation Of Nmda Receptor Activity During Physiological And Pathophysiological Events, Christine Marie Emnett

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are ionotropic glutamate receptors that serve crucial signaling and neurotrophic functions throughout the central nervous system. Both hyperfunction and hypofunction of NMDARs are associated with neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions. Thus, both positive and negative pharmacological NMDAR modulators are of clinical interest as treatments. Understanding drug mechanisms could lead to more rational drug design. Memantine and ketamine are NMDAR open channel blockers that exhibit similar pharmacodynamics at NMDARs but have different clinical uses. Memantine improves cognitive decline during Alzheimer's disease. Ketamine is an anesthetic and analgesic with psychotomimetic effects, but it is also a rapid acting and long-lived …

Determining The Critical Window Of Influence Of Pcb Perinatally On Behavioral And Hormonal Development In Sprague-Dawley Rat Pups, Natalie Sommerville, Lee A. Meserve, Howard C. Cromwell

Honors Projects

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) had widespread use in the United States in commercial manufacturing in the United States until the late 1970s. Even though they were banned, measurable amounts can still be found in the environment and food sources. PCB has known effects on altering hormone development and behavior in the species Rattus norvegicus. To determine the most crucial developmental time of exposure to PCB in Sprague-Dawley rat pups, rat pups were exposed to PCB at differing weeks of either gestation period or the first postnatal week. Behavioral tests were performed for the different rat pups, as well as blood …

Origin Of Maternal Age Effect In Congenital Heart Disease Risk For Offspring, Claire Elaine Schulkey

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Increasing maternal age is widely acknowledged to lead to greater likelihood of pregnancy complications and congenital abnormalities, but the basis of this effect has not been well studied. Often dismissed as the product of oocyte ageing, the mechanistic basis of this maternal age effect is likely more complex.Congenital heart disease is a classic complex disease with multiple genetic and environmental modifiers, including maternal age. Maternal ageing is a known risk-factor in humans, and has been shown to exist in an Nkx2-5 haploinsufficient mouse model for the disease. This mouse model's maternal age risk is dependent upon strain background, with C57BL/6N …

The Influence Of Metacommunity Size On Species Diversity Across Spatial Scales, Lauren Woods

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the influence of metacommunity size and landscape level processes, such as dispersal, on species diversity. A metacommunity is a group of local communities, or patches, connected by dispersal, and metacommunity size can be defined as the number of discrete local patches within a metacommunity. In chapter 1, I developed a framework to predict the effects of habitat destruction, or a reduction in metacommunity size, on the species richness of local patches of different sizes by integrating metacommunity theory with the equilibrium theory of island biogeography. The effect of metacommunity size on species richness in small and large …

Evolution Of Ecological Dominance Of Yeast Species In High-Sugar Environments, Kathryn Marie Williams

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Two challenging goals of evolutionary biology are to understand how evolutionary innovations evolve and how they contribute to the success of lineages. Evolutionary innovations may arise following whole genome duplication (WGD) events and they are suspected to contribute to the success of lineages by creating ecological opportunity. However, direct evidence for duplicated genes involved in evolutionary innovations remains rare, and the relationship between evolutionary innovations and the success of lineages may be very complex. In this study, I explore the relationship of evolutionary innovation, WGD, and the ecological dominance of yeast species in high-sugar environments. In budding yeast, a major …

Characterizing The Fitness Landscapes Of Gut Symbionts In Defined Community And Diet Contexts, Meng Wu

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

A species' niche is the description of all the environmental conditions required to permit a population of that species to persist, including the effects of the population on those conditions. This definition includes the species' resource requirements, as well as stress tolerances and interactions with other species acting as competitors, predators, parasites, and mutualists. The human gut microbiota serves as a microbial `metabolic organ' tasked in part with the biotransformation of many components of our diet. Relatively little is known about the factors that allow members of the human gut microbiota to persist in a habitat that experiences marked changes …

Comparative Population Genetics And Evolutionary History Of Two Commonly Misidentified Billfishes Of Management And Conservation Concern, Andrea M. Bernard, Mahmood S. Shivji, Eric Prince, Fabio H.V. Hazin, Freddy Arocha, Andres Domingo, Kevin A. Feldheim

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Background:  Misidentifications between exploited species may lead to inaccuracies in population assessments, with potentially irreversible conservation ramifications if overexploitation of either species is occurring. A notable showcase is provided by the realization that the roundscale spearfish (Tetrapturus georgii), a recently validated species, has been historically misidentified as the morphologically very similar and severely overfished white marlin (Kajikia albida) (IUCN listing: Vulnerable). In effect, no information exists on the population status and evolutionary history of the enigmatic roundscale spearfish, a large, highly vagile and broadly distributed pelagic species. We provide the first population genetic evaluation of the …

Privacy-Preserving And Outsourced Multi-User K-Means Clustering, Bharath Samanthula, Fang-Yu Rao, Elisa Bertino, Xun Yi, Dangxi Liu

Cyber Center Publications

Many techniques for privacy-preserving data mining (PPDM) have been investigated over the past decade. Often, the entities involved in the data mining process are end-users or organizations with limited computing and storage resources. As a result, such entities may want to refrain from participating in the PPDM process. To overcome this issue and to take many other benefits of cloud computing, outsourcing PPDM tasks to the cloud environment has recently gained special attention. We consider the scenario where n entities outsource their databases (in encrypted format) to the cloud and ask the cloud to perform the clustering task on their …

Regulation Of Dkk1, An Inhibitor Of The Wnt Signaling Pathway, By Dax-1 In Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells, Victor D. Gavallos

Undergraduate Honors Theses

DAX-1 is known to play a key role in the maintenance of pluripotency in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESC), such that elimination of DAX-1 (through methods such as RNAi) leads to the differentiation of ESC (Khalfallah et al. 2009). Earlier research by the Tzagarakis-Foster lab identified target genes of DAX-1 in mESC through PCR array methodology (Torres 2013). The Dickkopf 1 gene (Dkk1) was identified as a potential target of DAX-1 by these studies and has since been confirmed to be a DAX-1 target in mESC. However, to date very little is understood of the mechanism of DAX-1 repression of …

Development Of An Immunodiagnostic Assay For Canine Tear Lacritin, Alison Mae Enghauser

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Purpose: Lacritin is a naturally occurring human glycoprotein secreted from the lacrimal gland as a component of tears. Preliminary studies suggest that down-regulation of lacritin is associated with various ocular diseases, such as dry eye syndrome and blepharitis. Thus, lacritin shows potential as a new topical therapeutic for the treatment of ocular diseases. Previous studies have shown that recombinant human lacritin, when topically applied to rabbit eyes, promotes basal tearing. Antibodies produced against the terminal ends of human lacritin were used to develop a clinical immunodiagnostic assay that detect and quantify lacritin in human tear samples. In order to develop …

Examining The Effectiveness Of Ecotourism As A Funding Source For Protected Area Management In Guyana, Jordan S. Flagel

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Protected areas in tropical rainforests serve many important ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration. These areas are often in need of donor or grant funding to operate as governments in tropical forested countries are not always able to provide adequate funds for protection. This paper focuses on the Iwokrama International Center for Rainforest Conservation and Development in the South American country of Guyana, which has had funding issues since the global economic crisis of 2008 and an accompanying shift in donor country financial priorities. Increasing the amount of sustainable ecotourism in the Iwokrama reserve was identified as a potential source for …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Polymer (Sulfonated Poly-Ether-Ether-Ketone) Based Nanocomposite (H-Boron Nitride) Membrane For Hydrogen Storage, Naresh Muthu, S. Rajashabala, R. Kannan

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The development of light weight and compact hydrogen storage materials is still prerequisite to fuel-cell technology to be fully competitive. The present experimental study reports the hydrogen storage capability of sulfonated poly-ether-ether-ketone (SPEEK)-hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) (SPEEK-h-BN) nanocomposite membranes. The nanocomposite membranes are prepared by considering various amount of h-BN (0, 1, 3 and 5 wt. %) by phase inversion technique. The degree of sulfonation of the PEEK (SPEEK) is found to be 65% by Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopy. Hydrogen adsorption studies have been carried out using a Seiverts-like hydrogenation setup. The membranes are characterized …

The Relationship Between Riparian Zone Width And Floristic Quality In Shenandoah County, Virginia, Jamie D. Smith

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Riparian zones harbor an above average plant biodiversity. This biodiversity is threatened by invasive species and increasing human disturbance, the latter of which includes deforestation from agriculture and urban development. In this study, I examine relationship between the width of a forested riparian zone and the vegetation growing there. By using floristic quality assessment as a measure of anthropogenic disturbance, one can determine if wider riparian zones foster exclusion of non-native species while providing higher quality habitats for native plants. A randomized block design was used with three forested riparian treatments: deforested, moderately forested (woody vegetationstream), and extensively forested (woody …

Profile Of The Unfolded Protein Response In C. Elegans Depleted Of The Translational Chaperone, Nac., Caylin S. Murray

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The function of a protein is a direct consequence of its final structure, which is achieved by protein-folding processes that generate a tertiary state through the juxtaposition of locally formed secondary structures. Because all cells need functional proteins to survive, each contains robust and redundant mechanisms that regulate the folding of newly forming proteins, and the refolding of misfolded proteins that are often generated during stress. Essential to these mechanisms, chaperones are proteins that aid in protein folding of nascent and misfolding protein without being incorporated in the final structure. One chaperone complex, the nascent polypeptide-associated complex (NAC), aids in …

Colloidal And Biological Properties Of Triscationic Amphiphiles With One Or Two Tails, John N. Marafino

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The decline in the development of novel antimicrobials, combined with the misusage and over prescription of antibiotics, has contributed to the increasing prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant infections. Thus development of effective novel disinfectants could reduce the transmission of pathogens and decrease the risk of infection by antibiotic resistant organisms. The antimicrobial activity of amphiphiles, compounds with hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions, was first reported in 1935, and has influenced the synthesis of amphiphiles with variations in structure. In this study, three series of amphiphiles were synthesized by two subsequent Menshutkin reactions. Each amphiphile contains one or two hydrocarbon tails ranging from 8 …

Characterization Of Vibrio Vulnificus Strains Using Phenotypic And Genotypic Assays, James Conrad

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

In this study 143 V. vulnificus isolates of clinical and environmental origin, were examined for growth on differential media, identified to species and tested for antibiotic resistance. A multiplex PCR was created and optimized, and phylogenetic analysis was conducted. The first objective was to compare phenotypic methods to identify V. vulnificus. Colony colors of confirmed V. vulnificus isolates on selective media (Vibrio vulnificus agar, thiosulfate citrate bilesalts sucrose agar, CHROMAgar Vibrio (CAV), and colistin polymyxin B cellobiose agar), mostly matched those characteristic of V. vulnificus. To test the ability of these media to select for V. vulnificus, new presumptive V. …

Developing, Implementing, And Evaluating A No-Child-Left-Inside Pilot Program, Claudia Radel, Jamie C. Brand, Roslynn Brain

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

We describe experience with a pilot week-long, No-Child-Left-Inside (NCLI), outdoor program implemented in Cache Valley, Utah, in 2012. Through response analysis of a “pre-then-post” children's survey and a parent-completed demographic survey, we assess program effectiveness in raising children's enthusiasm for nature-related behaviors and in reaching a target audience of all local families. The program reached many families with low participation in other conservation programs but failed to reach families from the growing Latino population. Participating children experienced increased excitement to spend more time outdoors exploring and learning, accomplishing NCLI goals of laying a groundwork for children's enhanced environmental literacy.

Loss Of Thiol Repair Systems In Human Cataractous Lenses, Min Wei, Kui-Yi Xing, Yin-Chuan Fan, Teodosio Libondi, Marjorie F. Lou

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to investigate the thiol repair systems of thioltransferase (TTase) and thioredoxin (Trx) and oxidation-damaged proteins in human cataractous lenses.

METHODS. Cataractous lenses in humans (57–85 years of age) were classified into cortical, nuclear, mixed, mature, and hypermature cataract types by using a lens opacity classification system, and were obtained by extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) procedure. Cortical and nuclear cataracts were grouped by decreasing order of visual acuity into optical chart reading (R), counting fingers (CF), hand motion (HM), and light perception (LP). ECCE lens homogenate was analyzed for glutathione (GSH) level and enzyme …

Nutrition Interventions With Community Youth: Better Public Health Through Community Engagement And Neighbourhood Hubs, John L. Murnaghan

Social Justice and Community Engagement

No abstract provided.

Reproductive Parameters Of Two Coastal Pelagic Fishes Off Southeast Florida: Blackfin Tuna Thunnus Atlanticus And Little Tunny Euthynnus Alletteratus, Sonia Ahrabi-Nejad

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The ability to manage a fish stock relies on an understanding of life history characteristics and basic biology of the species. Numerous age-growth studies are facilitated by the relative ease of ageing fishes through hard-part analyses. Determining reproductive parameters for fish populations is equally important for stock assessments and management, and histological examination of gonads provides the most accurate determination of fecundity and spawning periods. Coastal pelagic fishes are often targeted commercially and recreationally due to their easy access by private vessels. However, there are few studies researching the biology and reproduction of recreational fishes in the waters of Southeastern …

The Impact Of Changing Surface Ocean Conditions On The Dissolution Of Aerosol Iron, Matthew Fishwick, Peter Sedwick, Maeve Lohan, Pau Worsfold, Kristen N. Buck, Thomas Church, Simon Ussher

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The proportion of aerosol iron (Fe) that dissolves in seawater varies greatly and is dependent on aerosol composition and the physicochemical conditions of seawater, which may change depending on location or be altered by global environmental change. Aerosol and surface seawater samples were collected in the Sargasso Sea and used to investigate the impact of these changing conditions on aerosol Fe dissolution in seawater. Our data show that seawater temperature, pH, and oxygen concentration, within the range of current and projected future values, had no significant effect on the dissolution of aerosol Fe. However, the source and composition of aerosols …

Potential Effects Of Elevated Co2 On Pitcher Plant Nectar Composition, Prey Capture, And Inquiline Communities, Deirdre Courtney

Honors Theses

Human activities such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation have contributed significantly to the increasing levels of CO₂ in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution. Under the IPCC A1FI emission scenario, we are expected to reach levels as high as 1000 ppm by the end of the century. On average, C₃ plants experience a 27% increase in carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio under elevated CO₂. As a result, C₃ plants typically exhibit an increase in carbon-based secondary compounds. Carnivorous plants are a rare type of C₃ plant that has adapted to survive in low …

Genome-Wide Analysis Of Drosophila Circular Rnas Reveals Their Structural And Sequence Properties And Age-Dependent Neural Accumulation, Sarah Olson, Brenton R. Graveley

UCHC Articles - Research

Circularization was recently recognized to broadly expand transcriptome complexity. Here, we exploit massive Drosophila total RNA-sequencing data, >5 billion paired-end reads from >100 libraries covering diverse developmental stages, tissues, and cultured cells, to rigorously annotate >2,500 fruit fly circular RNAs. These mostly derive from back-splicing of protein-coding genes and lack poly(A) tails, and the circularization of hundreds of genes is conserved across multiple Drosophila species. We elucidate structural and sequence properties of Drosophila circular RNAs, which exhibit commonalities and distinctions from mammalian circles. Notably, Drosophila circular RNAs harbor >1,000 well-conserved canonical miRNA seed matches, especially within coding regions, and coding …

The Role And Impact Of Student Leadership On Participants In A Healthy Eating And Physical Activity Programme, Lila Gutuskey, Nate Mccaughtry, Bo Shen, Erin Centeio, Alex Garn

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

Objective: In the USA there are rising rates of obesity among children, at least in part due to unhealthy eating and physical inactivity. Implementing school-based health interventions with elementary school children focused on youth empowerment could lead to improved health environments and behaviours. The purpose of the present study was to examine elementary students’ perceptions of participating in a student-led school health improvement team. Empowerment theory guided the research, specifically the concept of including participants in programming to identify possible individual-level outcomes. Design: Qualitative research. Setting: One US elementary school formed a student-led school health improvement team, …

P53 And Cancer-Associated Sialylated Glygans Are Surrogate Markers Of Cancerization Of The Bladder Associated With Schistosoma Haematobium Infection, Julio Santos, Elisabete Fernandes, Jose Alexandre Ferreira, Luis Lima, Ana Tavares, Andreia Peixoto, Beatriz Parreira, Jose Manuel Correia Da Costa, Paul J. Brindley, Carlos Lopes, Lucio L. Santos

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Background

Bladder cancer is a significant health problem in rural areas of Africa and the Middle East where Schistosoma haematobium is prevalent, supporting an association between malignant transformation and infection by this blood fluke. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms linking these events are poorly understood. Bladder cancers in infected populations are generally diagnosed at a late stage since there is a lack of non-invasive diagnostic tools, hence enforcing the need for early carcinogenesis markers.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Forty-three formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded bladder biopsies of S. haematobium-infected patients, consisting of bladder tumours, tumour adjacent mucosa and pre-malignant/malignant urothelial lesions, were screened for bladder …

Regulation Of Three Nitrogenase Gene Clusters In The Cyanobacterium Anabaena Variabilis Atcc 29413, Teresa Thiel, Brenda Pratte

Biology Department Faculty Works

The filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis ATCC 29413 fixes nitrogen under aerobic conditions in specialized cells called heterocysts that form in response to an environmental deficiency in combined nitrogen. Nitrogen fixation is mediated by the enzyme nitrogenase, which is very sensitive to oxygen. Heterocysts are microxic cells that allow nitrogenase to function in a filament comprised primarily of vegetative cells that produce oxygen by photosynthesis. A. variabilis is unique among well-characterized cyanobacteria in that it has three nitrogenase gene clusters that encode different nitrogenases, which function under different environmental conditions. The nif1 genes encode a Mo-nitrogenase that functions only in heterocysts, …

Spatial Variation In The Littoral Vertebrate Community Of A Reservoir Relative To Physical And Biological Gradients, Nathan Ruhl, Jessica J. Soski, Willem M. Roosenburg

College of Science & Mathematics Departmental Research

Reservoirs possess gradients in conditions and resources along their long (deep-shallow) axis, but the response of littoral vertebrates (fish and turtles) to these gradients is poorly understood. We have quantified the littoral vertebrate communities throughout a small reservoir in Southeastern Ohio during July and August using traps, and related community composition to environmental variables using NMDS ordination. Ordination revealed that fish and turtles were broadly separated in ordination space, and three distinctly different environmental gradients were significantly associated with the underlying observed species abundances. Observed turtle abundance was explained by measurements of bathymetry, turbidity, and benthic resources, but none of …

Comparative Genome Analyses Reveal Distinct Structure In The Saltwater Crocodile Mhc., Weerachai Jaratlerdsiri, Janine Deakin, Ricardo M. Godinez, Xueyan Shan, Daniel G. Peterson, Sylvain Marthey, Eric Lyons, Fiona M. Mccarthy, Sally R. Isberg, Damien P. Higgins, Amanda Y. Chong, John St. John, Travis C. Glenn, David A. Ray, Jaime Gongora

CALS Publications

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a dynamic genome region with an essential role in the adaptive immunity of vertebrates, especially antigen presentation. The MHC is generally divided into subregions (classes I, II and III) containing genes of similar function across species, but with different gene number and organisation. Crocodylia (crocodilians) are widely distributed and represent an evolutionary distinct group among higher vertebrates, but the genomic organisation of MHC within this lineage has been largely unexplored. Here, we studied the MHC region of the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) and compared it with that of other taxa. We characterised genomic clusters …